MEYSAN: BEAUTY MINUS CROWDS.

Byline: Brett Pauly Daily News Staff Writer

It's been called ``the red-headed stepchild of the Mount Whitney Trail.''

Long overshadowed by its neighboring world-famous hike to the highest point in the lower 48 states, Meysan Lakes Trail is in many ways more difficult, more pristine and certainly less traveled.

On a recent Sunday, Doug Davis of West Hills, his 14-year-old son Sean and another backpacking companion hoofed the Meysan trail that leads to its namesake lakes. ``It's a nice spot because it's out of the way,'' Davis said.

Out of the way, that is, of the masses searching for the glory in scaling 14,494-foot Mount Whitney. Those who have trekked the Mount Whitney Trail know it can be a zoo.

But just a short way from the Whitney trailhead at Whitney Portal is the outset of underappreciated - and underestimated - Meysan Lakes Trail. It's right there on the maps and its trailhead is clearly flagged on Whitney Portal Road, but hikers must be blinded to it by the daunting face of Whitney. I was as guilty as anyone; during my two ascents of Whitney and several excursions to the portal, I never noticed them.

Meysan Lakes Trail was named after Felix Meysan, whose family moved to Lone Pine in 1869 and who stocked the lakes with trout in the 1920s. Starting at an elevation of 7,900 feet, the footpath climbs 3,300 feet in 4.7 miles before first cresting out at picturesque Grass Lakes, which is cradled between Lone Pine Peak, Mounts LeConte, Mallory and Irvine and Candlelight Peak. That's an ascent of just over 700 feet per mile.

While much longer and higher, the 10.7-mile hump to Whitney climbs more than 650 feet a mile. So, clearly, the Meysan Lakes Trail is on par with its arduous brethren; and, for those planning to attempt Whitney, it provides an excellent opportunity to acclimate to the High Sierra's rigors and rarefied environs.

Chris and Terry Robbins, who work on tanks at Fort Irwin Military Reservation northeast of Barstow, found out the hard way that Meysan Lakes Trail is strenuous. ``I tell you, it would be neat to have something motorized to go up this thing,'' Terry Robbins said. The pair packed in too much gear and fell well short of their aim of camping at Meysan Lake, never reaching their goal even on a side trip the next day.

While the Whitney trail offers highlights such as Lone Pine Creek, Lone Pine Lake and Mirror Lake, Meysan Lakes Trail counters with exquisite Meysan Creek and Grass Lakes, with their mesmerizing reflective quality and mossy perimeter that one hiker likened to ``walking in a vat of grapes.'' En route is Little Meysan Lake - visible only from the surrounding mountains - and 11,500-foot Meysan Lake proper, which lies above Grass Lakes via a faint half-mile path scratched into a rocky slope.

Yet what Meysan Lakes Trail doesn't have is the dozens and dozens of visitors that diminish the appeal of the Mount Whitney Trail.

``One of the reasons we chose (Meysan Lakes) was that (overnight) wilderness permits are available on fairly short notice,'' Davis said. In fact, the Robbinses secured a backcountry camping document the day before their journey; that's practically unheard of for a Whitney trail permit, for which day-trippers and backpackers alike must often apply six months in advance.

From Whitney Portal's lower campground, the Meysan Lakes Trail rises quickly past scrub oak, sage and an impressive set of summer houses. Meysan Creek carves a deep and narrow gulch far below the course of 96 switchbacks that direct followers to Grass Lakes. The creek's cool flows are enticing as the reflective heat from the canyon's granite cliffs fills the air upon entering the John Muir Wilderness. Trees thicken initially before they thin out at higher elevations; Davis spotted various firs and lodgepole, Jeffrey and foxtail pines before he and his son scaled 12,944-foot Lone Pine Peak, which, from Whitney's summit, appears as a solitary and stalwart sentry.

At a shady spot in the trail, our hiking trio met a group of four returning from a two-day fishing trip to Meysan Lake. There they landed 63 brook trout on two rods, releasing all but six that wound up in the frying pan. Most were caught on Super Duper, Mepps, Kastmaster lures and measured in the 11- to 12-inch range, according to Darrell Sausser of Riverside. ``I thought they were a little smaller,'' quipped fellow Riverside resident John Young. ``We got to get our stories straight.''

Trout do tend to get bigger on the way home, I told them.

Only 15 people were passed on the Meysan Lakes Trail during our six-hour adventure. It may not have the glory of the Mount Whitney Trail, but it doesn't have the glitz, either.

If You're Going

The Meysan Lakes Trailhead is found at Whitney Portal, 12 miles west of Lone Pine.

Camping is available either on a first-come, first-served basis and limited to one night's stay or by reservation. Sites are $12 per night. For reservations, call [phone]. An $8.65 processing fee is charged.

Information for overnight backcountry permits is the same as the Cottonwood Lakes Basin.

The trail is found on the Mount Langley 7.5-minute series topographic map.

Allow six hours to complete hike to Grass Lakes. More details: [phone].

- Brett Pauly

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Map

PHOTO (Color) A pristine and uncrowded option to the intensely popular Mount Whitney Trail is Meysan Lakes Trail, which makes a stop at Grass Lakes, pictured here.

Matt Purdue/Special to the Daily News

MAP: (Color) MEYSAN LAKES TRAIL

Dionisio Munoz/Daily News